1939

Hammacher Schlemmer History

Dominic Tampone, later a president of Hammacher Schlemmer, was recognized as Hammacher Schlemmer's top salesman. In protest of the Nazi Regime sweeping across Germany and the surrounding countries, Hammacher stops buying German products until the end of World War II in 1945.

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U.S. History

On December 15, the film Gone with the Wind, starring Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland, and Leslie Howard, premieres at Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. Based on Margaret Mitchell's best-selling novel, it is the longest American film made up to that time, lasting nearly four hours.

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Extraordinary Items

"Most ingenious!", the Tip Over Tea Pot has a separate chamber for tea leaves in its top. When the pot is set on its side, the tea begins to steep. When again set upright, the tea can be poured without a strainer. Made from vitrified china, the two-pint capacity pot sells for $4.50.

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Media

The New Yorker profiles Hammacher Schlemmer, describing our company's metamorphosis from a hardware dealer to a store "which now deals in the most bizarre and glamorous kinds of luxury goods...with its gleaming crystal and chromium whatnots and Junior League salesgirls."

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Catalogs

One way Hammacher Schlemmer sought to serve the needs of its refined clientele was to create a "Connoisseurs' Food Department" that gathered delicacies from all corners of the globe. From green turtle soup in sherry and fresh romanoff private stock caviar, to royal wafers romary for champagne, we offered a smorgasbord of fine foods to sate even the most fastidious diner's appetite.